Something that's always bugged me... Does anyone really know how the WUSA salary structure works? I was thinking about it again because of the Clemens to San Jose trade (worried that SJ might be over the salary cap). We know what the Founders make--that was very well publicized--and there have been some articles that stated the ballpark figures for the internationals and the allocated players. I also have heard that all the first-round draft picks make a certain amount, and then the the second-round draft picks make a lesser amount, and so forth, but I haven't heard any of that from anyone who would really know (it's all just hearsay from other fans). At what point do players get to renegotiate their contacts, or do they? Is an Abby Wambach type locked into a certain pay scale forever based on being a first round pick, or after a few years will she be able to command a different salary based on her relative value to the team? I know the WNBA has had some issues in recent years where some players who were starters and team-leading scorers were making far less than the last player off the bench due to their original draft orders, and it led to some really nasty contract disputes and a few players refusing to sign. I hope the same doesn't happen in the WUSA, but I just wonder if the contract structure is much the same as the WNBA's.
Damn crash!!!!! there was a huge thread on this...with estimates...which i forget...but ill say this, there are REALLY bad players making 80k and really good players making the minimum... or in real terms webber janss.
On a somewhat related note.... I wonder what Aly Wagner's true $$$ worth would be if she was actually allowed to negotiate her contract instead of just receiving "First Round Draft Pick" cheddar.
I have a feeling SD will giver her anything she wants. She can make a crap load of money overseas. She can b making what Ronaldos wife is making...
Salary I doubt that. Even the best european players leave european leagues for the Wusa mainly because of the money. I think it was only the name "Ronaldo" that worked. Aly Wagner is unknown is Europe. Would be nice though if some players would come to Europe instead of leaving.
many euro leagues dont pay PERIOD...i think one of the spice girls could get as much money playing in england if she could afford the pay cut, not cuz she could play football but because her last name is beckham...sadly i think many euro followers still only think of mrs reonaldo and the spice girls when women and football are mentioned... not like smith and pichon havent done their part to put womens soccer in europe on the map (its already on the map in germany of course so that doesnt count as much)
Wagner wouldn't make much better than the average player overseas because she's not had enough international exposure. Now, if you throw her in a nat jersey for about three years and market her as the next Mia Hamm, then you've got a case to get her a decent amount of money. While some leagues do pay, and some leagues even go out and recruit players from other countries, most small time leagues don't pay at all. Maybe just the basic playing expenses. But clubs can get the money to acquire top name players if they want them. :begin tooting same old horn: This was proven back when Nordby and WUSA parted ways. China, Norway and some other country were putting in their bids for her. While the final money she signed for at Kolbotn (Norway) was slightly less than what she made here in the U.S., it was enough to get her labled as the very first 'women's professional footballer' due to the fact her salary was enough she didn't have to go out and get a job to make ends meet. So, it's possible, but it would have to be a big name and one that many people recognized.
This is a very interesting topic. Thanks for starting this thread SomebodyOrOther. I seem to recall reading last year that some of the international players were getting salaries in the 40 - 50K range. I wonder if it is possible for foreign players to make more than this if a team has some room under the salary cap? Hege Riise initially had a two year contract with Carolina and it now looks like she will be signing at least a one year contract extension with the Courage: Catching Up With Hege Something is seriously wrong with the WUSA salary structure if the maximum salary that Riise can earn for next season is 30K less than what Saskia Webber makes. Considering how well Hege has played and what her overall contribution has been to the WUSA, Riise's salary really should be right up there much closer to what the Founding Players are earning. I'm also wondering if all of the Founding Players have guaranteed 5 year contracts with the league? What would have happened if the New York Power had decided against acquiring Saskia Webber? Would Philadelphia have been stuck continuing to pay 80K per season to Webber for warming the bench? If the Power had known in advance that Gao was going to take so long to recovery from her surgery, they probably could have had Bente Nordby for at least 30K less than what they ended up having to pay for Saskia. In light of the fact that Webber was only a back-up goalkeeper for the Charge, shouldn't the WUSA have given New York some salary cap relief so that the Power weren't forced to release a quality player like Nel Fettig just to stay under the cap?
SomebodyOrOther, I was wondering the same thing. My sister called me a "Yankee" the other day since somehow we've got the dough to afford 5 founding players. I told her, though, that I suspect Clemens and Frenchie don't make quite as much as the real founding players. Still, I'm sure they make more than the average player, so I wonder how we do it when NY has to cut players like Fettig to stay under the cap.
My friend and I have always joked that Brandi must be playing for like $1 per game for San Jose to be able to afford everyone else on the roster! Of course she and Tisha are both likely receiving the $80k that it's been publicized that the Founders make. I also know there's a salary difference between the 20 '99 WWC players and the 4 other players that were allocated originally. What I wonder is if there's a salary difference between those 4. It's totally a wild guess on my part, but it might make sense if Beene and Clemens made less than Olympians Mullinix and French, since the powers that be have already designated a different salary for the other 20 players. Anyway, I'm completely making that up off the top of my head so I have no idea if there's any basis in reality for that at all. It might help explain why SJ is still under the cap, however, if Clemens and Beene are making a bit less. The whole thing is really confusing!
On a somewhat related note here is an old article I posted in the Beat forum a while ago. Hooper was not happy with the way the league did the salaries for the foreigners... http://www.virtual-soccer.com/metro00/metro443.html If what Charmaine said is indeed true for the league then I disagree with this salary structure. Certainly a player like Riise or Hooper deserve more than say a player like Webber or Whalen.
We all say "the 20 '99 WWC players and the 4 other players that were allocated." Isn't it true that there are 19 '99 WWC Founding players? The 20 on the roster minus Akers? I suppose, though, Akers could be considered a "Founding player," but she is not among any of the 3 sent to each team. This means that there are 5 allocated founding players: The three in SJ (Beene, Frenchie, and Clemens), Siri in DC, and Serlenga in Atlanta. I agree with Hooper. On a side note...I didn't know she lived in the Chicago area. I wonder if her suburb is the same one--or somewhere near--the one that I grew up in.
in regards to hooper, what the article above summed it up perfectly...they salary differences was something that was talked about lot here in canadian soccer media outlets, and i think there was a really good article done about it in one of the canadian soccer mags...i'll try to find my copy of it. oh, and hoops live in the chicago area since her days playing for the chicago cobras. plus, her now-husband chuck is an asst. coach at northwestern too. elaine
I somehow get the feeling that between the time Hooper and other foriegn players were aproached and the time the league actually got underway the salary structure was tweaked a bit. Don't some foreigners make a hell of a lot more than the allocated founders? Sunny makes something like 50k+. I remember reading that in an article posted here.
all founders make 80k. extra allocations may indeed make less than top foreigners...remember however that these foreigners are HUGE names...where i get POed is when i see webber making all this money to win 3 games and get her butt handed to her every game while yelling at fans in the autograph line and punching the boards, and then look forward and see Emily Janss, a top flight winger playing for peanuts...there needs to be a meidum and a way for advancement based on PLAY NOT NAME the way the founders were paid and marketed has been the league's biggest blunder so far...sure mia and foudy and brandi disirve every picture and every penny but ppl like webber and whalen and hell i wont be a homer Lorrie fair, are NOT worthy of what they are making.
Oops. I meant to say allocated players. Siri, Nikki, Frenchie and Mandy. Yeah it sucks that some players get their 80k while Siri is living in someones basement. It sucks twice as much to think that because they have a 5 year contract a phenom rookie has the potential of getting a better deal. It will really be interesting when re-signing time rolls around. At the end of year 5. Assuming the league is still around. Siri and them will still be young enough, and hopefully good enough, to get a deal they deserve.
note that founders have no trade clauses, webber ASKED to goto NY because her modeling contact was in NY...some speculated that webber actually shoved the deal down marenhoff's throat and that the power's hands were tied by league rules and hence why such a lopsided deal. founders cannot be placed on reserves unless injured (which is a different reserve system) and cannot be cut. i think the situitation with some founders is so grave in terms of money spent vs actual player value (namely overbeck, ducar and webber) that the O/Is should sit down the founders and work out an compensation deal that allows them to retire or be cut while being gaurenteed a non soccer or coaching (either team or WUSA) spot at the same rate of pay with only 1/2 of the founder's pay being waived toward the cap in the year after departure to keep founders from being booted for financial reasons. For example, overbeck is shot as a player but i could see her as a very productive assistant under mcdermott. webber i could see as a GK coach for the power i have suggested this out clause plan earlier on the power board concerning webber...and anyone else think vench would be a riot in the booth? better than dirtball or dicicco thats fer sure. i think the WUSA needs to look hard at it's founder system and weed out the bad apples quick...it was foolish to judge their pay rate on one team, there were bench warmers on that team who didnt have much going for them...and people who disirved more money didnt get it...a better idea would have been only signing the STARTING LINEUP of the 99 team with the understanding that the other players would also recieve a gaurenteed contract at a lower rate of pay and would stil be called "founders" with all the marketing rights and priviliages. this would also have allowed the WUSA to sign and allocate foreigners earlier (aka pre olys) hence making it that they didnt bet the league on the olympic team winning gold (as i had cautioned back in 2000 in one of my first posts) . but thats all old news and most of the exec staff is different now and that is better for the league...must i remind the jury of how nausating the WUSA marketing was...there are founders and then there are other people...i think the WUSA desirves some credit for moving the marketing away from founders in 2002 compared to 2001 btw factoid: the founder system was always based on 19 players...overbeck was signed as a front office liasion so she could have a kid...when akers declined to play year 1 due to her ill health, the WUSA approached overbeck to replace akers in the founders scheme, she agreed on the condition that there be a team in carolina and she would only play for a team in carolina, hence the orlando franchise was moved and christened the tempest who are now known as the courage. PS lykshia beene is also an allocated player from the initial allocations.
I thought Orlando lost their team because they couldn't secure a stadium. So when they decided to move the team to Carolina and Akers had pulled out they asked Carla to play? Where did you here this?
I don't know if the actual WUSA salary cap for each team was published last season, but in case anyone is interested, I heard Tony DiCicco interviewed on the radio a few weeks ago and he said that this coming season's salary cap has not yet been determined, but last season's salary cap figure was $834,500.
WUSA Salary Cap Just in case anyone is interested, the WUSA salary cap for the inaugural season was $800,000. WUSA kick-started